


Press Your Copper (The Fire Baby Remix)

by coricomile



Category: due South
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M, Post-Call of the Wild
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-04-01 16:11:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4026388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coricomile/pseuds/coricomile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The baby came as a surprise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Press Your Copper (The Fire Baby Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kernezelda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kernezelda/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Happy Ever After](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/118189) by kernezelda. 



The baby came as a surprise.

Well, almost everything came as a surprise with Fraser. It was part of the deal. Expect the unexpectedness and keep from going totally crazy. That was Ray's motto, and he was sticking to it. So when Fraser showed up with a bundle of squirming blankets,half frozen through, Ray just nodded and took a drink of his beer. Baby. Alright.

"Her guardians were killed by bears," Fraser said, soft like it wouldn't reach the baby's little ears. "They had tied her bassinet to a tree branch, which saved her life-"

"But not theirs," Ray finished. He put his beer on the table and took the bundle out of Fraser's arms. "Go on, get changed before you catch pneumonia."

Ray looked down at the baby, shushing it gently. Her giant parka nearly swamped her, only her huge eyes visible, watching him unblinkingly. Her dark skin felt too damn cold from outside when he ran a finger over her soft cheek.

"So what do we do now?" Ray asked when Fraser stepped back into the living room, changed into a pair of sweats. “She got family somewhere?”

"Her guardians were quite elderly, which suggests grandparents, which also suggests that her parents were indisposed." Fraser leaned against the couch, his head hung. Seeing them all torn up couldn’t have been good for anybody. When the baby was gone, they’d need a good beer and a good spooning session.

"Okay," Ray said. He rested the baby's weight against his hip, bouncing her carefully. She barely fussed at all. "So I repeat: what do we do now? There a foster system or something up here?"

"Well," Fraser said, and then he did that thing with his thumb and his eyebrow and Ray shook his head. Uh-uh. No way.

"We are not keeping her, Fraser," Ray said, scowling. "Do not even think about it."

"You have always wanted children, Ray." Fraser puffed out his chest, which was unfair because it was bare and Ray was weak against any sort of naked Fraser skin, and Fraser _knew_ that. “And I- I’ve always had a soft spot for them as well.”

"That is not the point." Ray pointed a finger at him, jabbing it at the air since Fraser was too far to actually poke. "The point is that a baby is not a wolf puppy. You cannot just pick one up out of the woods and keep it. That is not how babies work." From his spot near the couch, Dief barked. Ray moved his pointing finger toward him. "Don't you start with me, mutt."

"She has no guardians, and we have both the room and excess- care to give to a child," Fraser said. And there was the eyebrow thing again. Dammit. “It seems like, ah, a win-win situation.”

"We got a cabin in the woods," Ray said. "And what if _we_ get eaten by bears, huh? What's the kid gonna do then?"

"It's highly unlikely bears would wander this far into a clearing," Fraser said. Ray tapped his foot and waited for the story that would always, always show up right about now. The baby made a soft sound and Ray switched her to the other hip. "And Dief has an excellent sense of smell. He would alert us long before one was on the property."

"What about when she has girl questions? I ain't equipped for that, and you sure as hell aren't either." Ray winced when Fraser smiled, crooked tooth and all. Aw, hell. He hadn't meant to say _when_. If! He meant _if_! One more push and he'd be out back cutting wood for a crib.

"There's plenty of women in town, and there are always Francesca and Stella," Fraser said, his smile broadening. The fucker knew he was winning.

"Yeah, sure. Cause Stella screams motherly," Ray muttered. Didn't matter that he'd been shacked up with Fraser for years. Stella would always be a sore spot for him. "Say we maybe want to take the kid- that is a maybe, don't give me that look- you really think the government is gonna hand over a baby to two guys?"

"I think an exception could be made." Fraser pushed off the couch and stepped into his space. He put one hand on Ray's hip and the other on the baby's head, pushing back the hood to stroke her hair. "With my position in the RCMP, and your former position as a police officer, we do have rather good odds."

Ray looked down at the baby, at her little scrunched mouth and her riot of black hair. It felt good, here with Fraser and the little munchkin. Right. Like a family. This was what he'd always wanted. A partner and a kid and a stupid mutt. All he had to do was say yes. Wasn't he always telling Fraser just to keep it simple? One word, and he could have it all.

"Fine," Ray said,trying to put as much reluctance into it as he could. "We keep the baby. _If_ we can’t find her family. You happy?"

"Very much so," Fraser said. He leaned in, careful of the kid, and kissed Ray gently. And this here, Fraser kisses in the cabin they built themselves, that was the good stuff.

"Alright, so what are we gonna call her ‘til then?" Ray asked. The baby fussed, her little whimper pathetic, and Ray offered her a finger. Immediately, she stuck it between her toothless gums and gnawed on it. Great. First wolf spit, now baby spit.

"Traditionally," Fraser started, "First Nation children are named after an element and then given the opportunity to earn a new name as they age. I’m sure we could-"

"That's nice and all, but a kid's gotta have a name," Ray said. He’d always thought Stella would name the kids if they ever had them. Something real nice, with no stupid movie references. "A real name that you can put on forms and stuff. I know it's all cuckoo crazy up here, but they got forms."

"Alison," Fraser said after a moment. Ray wanted to ask if it had some sort of meaning to him, or if it was just something he'd pulled out of his ass. He figured Fraser would eventually tell him one way or another.

"Yeah, sure." Ray looked down at the baby, at her bitty little mouth and ginormous eyes and nodded. "You like that, kid? Alison?" She yawned, which was good enough for him.

And that's how they got their little Fire Baby.

\---

They did look for for Allie's parents, which tore at Ray more than he thought it would. When that failed, they tried to find the names of her grandparents, but the First Nations registries were for shit. Ray felt rage boiling in him the longer they looked.

Those two old folks with the baby, they'd been _people_ , and even Fraser couldn't find their names or, hell, their tribes. They were just _bodies_ and no one cared.

"Isn't Canada supposed to be better?" Ray asked, voice raised as he hung up the phone. "Aren't you people supposed to give a shit about the citizens?" Fraser frowned, his lips pressed together. Ray might be the one yelling, but Fraser was just as pissed.

"The First Nations people have always been- overlooked," Fraser said, choosing his words carefully. The disdain in his voice was something Ray hadn’t heard in a long time.

"That's bullshit." Ray winced when Allie wailed, startled awake by his voice. Fraser went to her, picking her up gently from the makeshift crib they'd made out of a basket and blankets.

"Yes, Ray. It is." Fraser pressed a kiss to Allie's forehead and bounced her in his arms. She curled into his chest, one wet hand bumping Fraser’s mouth gently.

"We won't let that happen to her," Ray said. They'd had her for two weeks, and already the thought of her being forgotten like that made him want to put his fist through something. "She's not gonna fall through the cracks."

They attended the burial for the grandparents, Allie in the giant parka and little bow Fraser found her in. There was no ceremony, no mourners. Just a hole in the ground and a heap of rocks beside it. Fraser tied an eagle feather to it and bowed his head.

"I'm so sorry," he said, words almost hidden by the wind. "I'm so very sorry."

\---

Allie loved the snow, which was just as well, because that's all they had. Snow and snow and more damn snow. At four years old, she waddled out into it with her big boots and big coat and pink mittens, Dief bounding after her. Ray watched her, already frozen through, and grinned when she let out a squeal of pure delight.

"Alright, brat," he said, climbing off the step, "it's time for your first snowman." Allie beamed up at him, her eyes crinkling just like Fraser's did.

For the most part, Ray made the snowman on his own, with Allie patting on handfuls of snow once he'd rolled the balls. He hefted her up to let her press smooth, round stones into the head. Its smile was crooked and its eyes were uneven, but Allie clapped her hands when it all came together, and that was good enough for Ray.

"You like that?" Ray asked, reaching under her jacket to tickle her round little belly. Allie squirmed in his arms, squealing and kicking, her long hair sneaking out from under her hood.

God, but he loved her. His chest tightened every time he so much as looked at her, too small for all the things he felt. She was his little heart breaker, his little Fire Baby, his goddamn princess, and he wanted to put her inside his coat and guard her with his whole life.

"Alright, Fire Baby," he said, tilting her back upright. Her face had gone red from the cold, the little upturn of her nose good enough to pass for Rudolph. "Inside."

Fraser had cider waiting for them, hot on the stove and spiced with cinnamon. Ray collapsed in his chair with his mug and let Fraser deal with the kid's parka and mittens. In the living room, the fireplace glowed. And if there was a bit of kick to his cider, an _I’m sorry for running off for a few days to find some baddie or other_ , Ray didn’t say anything.

Allie slept with them that night, tucked up between their bodies. It was a bad habit and Ray _knew_ it was a bad habit, but he said no to her about as much as he said no to Fraser. And Fraser couldn’t keep away from her at all after a case.

"She starts school in four months," Fraser whispered. His fingers ran over the bumps of Ray's ribs, back and forth until Ray could barely feel that patch of skin anymore. If the kid had been in her own room, in her own bed that Ray had spent a whole damn _week_ making, he might have moved into it in a whole different way.

"I know." Ray pressed his face to Allie's hair, breathing in the soft smell of baby shampoo. One day, she wouldn't want to sleep in bed with them, or build snowmen with him. One day, she'd suddenly be an adult, and there was nothing he could do about that.

"I was thinking," Fraser said, his voice as drowsy as Ray felt. "Maybe we should take her to Chicago for a week to let her see where you grew up."

"Yeah?" Ray grinned and closed his eyes. He didn't regret moving to Canada, not ever, but sometimes he just plain missed _home_. And his mom would finally have to lay off his case about never bringing her grandkid around. Wins all around. "Sounds good, Frase. Sounds real good."

\---

For Allie’s sixth Christmas with them, they made her a sled. Ray spent a lot of the time in the shed, shaving down the wood and over-sanding it. He worried about splinters, even though he knew her clothes would always be thick enough to stop them. Fraser kept the kid distracted, taking her out to town and out trapping with him. 

Ray tried to imagine his dad taking him trapping, or trying to teach him to skin a rabbit, and felt nausea sink into his belly. Fraser showed him how to gut and skin, but the overall consensus was that he could cook it if it came to him sliced and ready to go into the pan and not a moment before. Some things never changed.

Making the sled was soothing. Ray loved working with his hands, loved the solid sound of hammer hitting wood. He’d picked up odd jobs in town to repair stuff, started making furniture to haul into Yellowknife once a month. Allie liked to watch him from her tiny chair in the corner of the shed, her bright little face lighting up as things began to take shape. Maybe that would be something he could teach her as she grew. Like his dad and him with engines. 

Fraser cut and cured and dried the leather himself, which stunk like hell, but looked and felt good when it was done. If they wanted, they could harness Dief up and let him take over the burden of carting her around. He was always gentle with her, and Ray was not ashamed a single bit to let the mutt take over watch every once in a while.

Christmas eve, all three of them climbed into her bed, squashed together. Allie snuggled her head against Ray’s chest. Her hair tickled at his nose and a bony elbow dug directly into spleen, but it was all good. All greatness. 

Fraser read to her, book spread open over his lap. Allie giggled and squealed, too excited about the next day to sleep. She pointed out every mistake Fraser made, too damn smart for her own good, and Ray snickered until Fraser cuffed him. 

By some freaking miracle they got her under the covers, exchanged the round of goodnight kisses, and made their escape. He figured they’d get four hours of sleep, tops. The coffee pot was already filled and ready to go. He’d need all of it.

Ray popped into their room and dug the sled out from their closet. It looked good, it felt good. He hadn’t tried it out- his back had gone to shit from all the stupid stunts he’d pulled with Fraser over a decade ago- but it had the Kowalski seal of approval. 

“Think she’ll like it?” Ray asked. He propped the sled against the tree, fighting with the damn thing to make it stand up straight. Fraser pulled him in with one arm, knocking them together. 

“She’ll love it, Ray,” Fraser said. 

”Damn straight, she will,” Ray said, puffing up his chest and elbowing Fraser’s softening stomach. 

And for just a minute, just a no-good bad minute, Ray wanted to thank that stupid bear. He slid out of Fraser’s arms and turned the lights off.

**Author's Note:**

> I recently rewatched the episode with the baby, and it was a lot of the basis of the back story of this. I think, in his own way, Fraser wants kids just as much as Ray, for a lot of the same reasons, but I can't see either one of them as the surrogate/adoption types. They're both too stoic- read: stupid- in regards to their own wants. But they're good with working with things that get dealt to them, and that seemed the way, to me at least, that they would find themselves with a child. 
> 
> I will admit it's a bit saccharine, but I do not caaaaaaaare. They deserve at least a little sap in their lives.


End file.
